- Program Aims to Promote Healthy Lifestyles and Diet Among Southeast Asian Children -

MANILA, PHILIPPINES, Sept. 26, 2016 – The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Alaska Milk Corporation announced today that for the third consecutive year, Jr. NBA All-Stars from Southeast Asia will travel to China to watch a live NBA game as part of the initiatives in promoting healthy lifestyle and diet among children.

Ninety Jr. NBA All-Stars from Southeast Asia – boys and girls ages 10-14 – will attend NBA Global Games China 2016 presented by Master Kong in Shanghai on Oct. 9, featuring the Houston Rockets and the New Orleans Pelicans playing a preseason game at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. The participants from the Philippines will be joined by Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam and for the first time by Jr. NBA Singapore standouts following the program’s introduction to Singapore earlier this year. As part of their visit to Shanghai, the boys and girls will also meet with NBA players and legends, receive additional basketball training and tour the city.

“Our Jr. NBA All-Stars will once again embark on an unforgettable journey where they will get to experience a foreign country, take part in advanced basketball training and watch a live NBA game, all while engaging with their counterparts from Southeast Asia,” said NBA Asia Vice President, Global Partnerships & Events Francesco Suarez. “This gathering creates lifelong memories and friendships for our participants, and we will continue providing even more youth with opportunities like this in the years to come.”

“I’d like to congratulate our Jr. NBA Philippine All-Stars on their success. Through Alaska Milk’s Nutrition.Action.Champion. Program and our partnership with the NBA, we have been able to help fuel the basketball dreams and life aspirations of thousands of children across the country,” said Alaska Milk Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Wilfred Steven Uytengsu. “This collaboration is an important element of our long-standing Nutrition.Action.Champion. campaign. By leveraging on this initiative, Alaska Milk was able to proactively educate families and children on the important role of drinking milk and getting into sports to achieve a healthy and active lifestyle.”

The Jr. NBA is presented by Royal FrieslandCampina in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam through its Frisian Flag, Dutch Lady, Alaska Milk, and Foremost brands and is conducted in partnership with Sport Singapore in Singapore. Promoting the importance of regular physical activity, participants are trained in the fundamentals of basketball and learn the importance of the Jr. NBA’s core values, including sportsmanship, teamwork, a positive attitude, and respect. To date, the program has reached more than 1.5 million children, parents and coaches across Southeast Asia through camps, clinics, and NBA Cares community outreach activities, and aims to reach five million children by 2020.

Fans can visit the official website at www.jrnba.asia for more information on the Jr. NBA programs. “Friend” the NBA’s official account on LINE by adding @nba_global. Follow the NBA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nba and Twitter at @NBA for all the latest news and updates. For all things NBA, visit www.nba.com.

Check out Alaska Milk’s sports channel www.playph.com and like @PlayPH in Facebook and Instagram for inspiring stories on Filipino sports fans of all ages and skill levels.

About the NBA

The NBA is a global sports and media business built around three professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, and the NBA Development League. The league has established a major international presence with games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 49 languages, and NBA merchandise for sale in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on 6 continents. NBA rosters at the start of the 2015-16 season featured 100 international players from 37 countries and territories. NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV, NBA.com and the NBA App, which achieved record viewership and traffic during the 2015-16 season. The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with more than one billion likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms. Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes.

About Alaska Milk

Alaska Milk recognizes the need of Filipino children for proper nutrition.According to the 2011 National Nutrition Survey conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), it was revealed that 3 out of 10 children aged 5-10 years were underweight while 8 out of 100 children of the same age were overweight, making malnutrition and obesity two of the most pressing nutritional problems in the Philippines today.Alaska Milk is committed to help provide proper nutrition through its leading brands, Alaska Powdered Milk Drink and Alaska Chocolate Powdered Milk Drink.It contains 20+ essential nutrients that help children reach their full growth potential.Aside from proper nutrition, an active lifestyle is needed in order to shape and nurture healthier children.Because of this, Alaska Milk encourages children to “go out and play” through its NUTRITION. ACTION. CHAMPION. programs: Alaska Basketball and Football Power Camps and Cups, Alaska IronKids Triathlon, Alaska Family Run and Alaska Cycle Philippines.At the same time, Alaska Milk has a professional basketball team, the 14-time PBA champion, Alaska Aces, which continues to inspire the youth to become future champions who are guided by positive values.Finally, Alaska Milk partners with excellent local and international organizationswho share the same objectives, vision, and values namely the Philippine Basketball Association, National Basketball Association, World Triathlon Corporation, Cycle Asia, Makati and Alabang Football Schools and Sunrise Events, Incorporated.